Mac OSX - What format to use for an external hard drive?
I am using Mac OS Mojave and have a new WD MyPassport Drive. (It is a non-SSD external drive.)
The drive will load but can't be written, so I need to think I need to format it.
What format should I use?
I plan to update to a future OS one day in the future, so I would like a format that works with both Mojave and future OS.
Disk Utility gives me the following options:
- APFS (including encrypted and case sensitive options)
- Mac OS Extended Journaled (including encrypted and case sensitive options)
- MS-DOS Fat
- ExFat
It also asks for a "Scheme"
- GUID Partition Map
- Master Boot Record
- Apple Partition Map
Which scheme do I pick?
What I plan to use the drive for:
It will be used to store a variety of files. I only plan to view the files on my Mac (by copying the files on the mac, so I won't run them from the drive). I will only access the files a few times a year. Some of the files are very large, so if there is an option that improves speed of copying, that would be good. Because I only plan it to use on Mac, then I don’t need the flexibility of compatibility with other OSes that ExFat brings. However, if the other formats, don’t offer any significant benefit over ExFat, then I guess I should use ExFat for future proofing?
I do not plan to use the drive for Timemachine or to use as a boot drive (as I have another drive for that)
Thanks!
